Lawn of the Dead
by Alex-olo-gy
Summary: A young Snow Pea, a wannabe gangsta Repeater, and a foreign Hypno-Shroom all cross paths on one lawn with the same goal in mind: obliterate zombies. Follow their misadventures as they learn about themselves, each other, and true love (haha not really).
1. Episode 1: Let there be peas! Part 1

GREENVILLE, CONNECTICUT-

It was a glorious day in May. The sun was shining, birds were singing-Oh, who am I kidding? You probably want me to get to the real story at hand, don't you? All that really matters about the description of that glorious day is that a Snow Pea was heading off to her first day of work after seeing a notice on the town bulletin.

Allow me to describe this particular Snow Pea in detail. Her name was April, and she was about 15 cycles old. At first glance, April didn't really stand out from your average Snow Pea, save for a snowflake barrette on one side of her cyan bulb. However, contrary to the normally obedient and reserved nature of most Snow Peas, April was sassy, eccentric, spunky and generally hyperactive in nature. If you gave her a command, you would more often than not have to repeat it multiple times before she would actually get to doing it.

" ~I got a jo-ob! 'Cause I'm so awe-some!~ " April sang as she made her way alongside the sidewalk to her employer's home, made possible by maneuvering her roots through the loose soil beside the pavement. After about five minutes, she reached her destination: a beige house with terra-cotta Spanish tile for roofing. What April found peculiar about this house, though, was an assortment of other plants positioned on the lawn in neat rows, idle.

"The heck? Where's that Alice person I was supposed to meet?" April muttered to herself as she rooted along the driveway, stopping in front of one of the Wall-nuts making up the front row.

"Hey! Is this Misty View Park Meadows Property 396049?" April asked the Wall-nut. The Wall-nut turned to face her. " Top O' the mornin' m'lady! A munificent lady was Mother Nature to give us such glorious weather today, was she not?" "Excuse me?" April was puzzled by the Wall-nut, her confusion blissfully ignored by which. "You certainly aren't thinking of taking a job such as this, are you lass? This isn't a job for a lady, or someone faint of heart." he said politely, as if giving friendly advice. April didn't know whether to continue to be confused or to be disgusted. "Not for a lady, huh? Well, I'll have you know that I'm getting this job, whether some Brit Wall-nut tells me to or not!" "I DO DECLARE!" responded the Wall-nut in chorus with the others in his row as April rooted past.

"Ugh, stupid Wall-nuts, thinking a woman can't do a simple job…"April muttered to herself. "At least there aren't any other idiots here.." Unfortunately, she was proven wrong as she felt someone grab her from behind.

"Why you squirmin' shrimp? Just sayin' hi like they do it in the streets!" a Repeater taunted as he held April, giving her a wicked noogie, then dropping her to the ground. "Name's Pete, squirt. I came here for one thing, and that's to make money. So you better not get in my way, or I'll pound you!" Pete made his leave as April stood, fuming.

"Okay, so apparently I was wrong about the Wall-nuts being the only idiots here." April continued on, unaware that Pete was trailing her, having only come that day like April. After encountering a particularly strange Chomper that had the greatest need to share his collection of bones with her, April finally made it to the door.

"Finally! 'Bout time I found out who's runnin' this whole circus of cronies!" April groaned when Pete made his presence known behind her. Regardless, she uprooted herself and made her way up the steps with Pete in tow.

April wasn't exactly tall enough to reach the doorbell, but as the the Peashooter's motto goes, "Shooting peas fixes EVERYTHING." After ringing the doorbell, Pete snorted. "I bet this guy's a middle aged gardenin' fanatic or somethin' if he wants so many of us plants." As Pete said this, however, the door opened. "Yes? Can I help you?"

Both peas turned to the direction of the soft, polite voice. The human whom it belonged to was a girl in her teens, with an enviable figure. She had brunette hair that cascaded down onto her shoulders and chocolate brown eyes which accentuated her daintily freckled face. She, in short, was the type of girl who would be dating the high school quarterback. April was awed, and Pete just stared, drooling.

"Oh, you two must be the new guys! My name is Alice Lockes, but you can just call me Alice. What's your names?" Alice said in her soft, angelic voice. "I'm April, and the idiot behind me is Pete." Pete's response was delayed. "Hey…" "Alright, it's nice to meet you two. We've got one more coming today, but she's not from America, so I'd like you guys to-" Alice's response was cut short as a Peashooter hurriedly rushed to her side, visibly shaken.

"M-Miss Lockes! We have a Code Z, I repeat, Code Z!"

Alice quickly got up, a look of stoic determination on her face. "Everyone into position! We've just received a Code Z! We don't have any time to lose!" April and Pete were confused. "Yo pretty lady!" Pete called, "What's the deal with this whole Code Z biz?" Alice looked at both Peas grimly.

"The zombies...are coming."


	2. Episode 1: Let there be peas! Part 2

"Zombies?" April asked, giving Alice a weird look. _I swear, if I meet one more crazy person today I'll do something to someone, and you don't want to be that someone I do something to, Alice. Maybe Pete ._"Ok Alice, so what's our job?" asked Pete. "Simple," Alice replied, then pointing to the front of the lawn. "Shoot those zombies down!" "Are you kidding?" April said. "There's no such thing as-"

"Braaaaaiiiiiiiiinnnnsssssssssss….."

April and Pete turned slowly, and lo and behold, there was a horde of zombies trudging towards the lawn.

"….Zombies…."

The two Peas were dumbfounded. April thought that zombies only existed in the movies! Whatever Pete thought wasn't readily apparent. "Well," April sighed. "A job is a job, and I'm pretty desperate for some cash…" She and Pete went to work, Pete shooting twice as fast as April, and April's frozen peas slowing the zombies to a shuffle. The Wall-nuts held the zombies off just long enough for all the Peashooters to shoot their heads off, and the Sunflowers were producing just enough sun to energize all the plants. Eventually, the last zombie was defeated, and the lawn was safe…for now.

"Man, when those Wall-nuts said this wasn't a lady's job they weren't kidding. You know what?" April said to Pete, panting. "That wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. In fact, I think that was kinda fun!" "Ditto." Pete replied, equally exhausted.

"Good job, everybody!" Alice said, beaming with pride. Just then, a mail truck rolled by the drive, and a postman set down a package labeled "Fragile. Shipped from "Zombies?" April asked, giving Alice a weird look. I swear, if I meet one more crazy person today I'll do something to someone, and you don't want to be that someone I do something to, Alice. Maybe Pete ."Ok Alice, so what's our job?" asked Pete. "Simple," Alice replied, then pointing to the front of the lawn. "Shoot those zombies down!" "Are you kidding?" April said. "There's no such thing as-"

"Braaaaaiiiiiiiiinnnnsssssssssss….."

April and Pete turned slowly, and lo and behold, there was a horde of zombies trudging towards the lawn.

"….Zombies…."

The two Peas were dumbfounded. April thought that zombies only existed in the movies! Whatever Pete thought wasn't readily apparent. "Well," April sighed. "A job is a job, and I'm pretty desperate for some cash…" She and Pete went to work, Pete shooting twice as fast as April, and April's frozen peas slowing the zombies to a shuffle. The Wall-nuts held the zombies off just long enough for all the Peashooters to shoot their heads off, and the Sunflowers were producing just enough sun to energize all the plants. Eventually, the last zombie was defeated, and the lawn was safe…for now.

"Man, when those Wall-nuts said this wasn't a lady's job they weren't kidding. You know what?" April said to Pete, panting. "That wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. In fact, I think that was kinda fun!" "Ditto." Pete replied, equally exhausted.

"Good job, everybody!" Alice said, beaming with pride. Just then, a mail truck rolled by the drive, and a postman set down a package labeled "Fragile. Shipped from Timişoara, Romania . Alice took the package to the porch and opened it. Beneath the packing peanuts, a voice called out,

"Alo? Is this America?"

"Oh, you must be the third applicant!" Alice said. "Welcome! Can you come out for me Miss…Iona Trancuba?" "Da,da doamnă! I am Iona." A plant jumped out of the box, which Alice instantly recognized as a Hypno-Shroom. What struck her as odd, however, was that Iona was wearing a loose, pale green bandanna around her cap and bore violet eyes, as opposed to the red eyes of most Hypno-Shrooms.

"You are Miss Alice?" Iona said, purple eyes shining with a mixture of admiration and curiosity. "Yeah, that's me. Welcome to the team!" Alice greeted. " Da, doamnă! I shall do you very good!" Iona replied with confidence. "That's awesome!" Alice replied. "Hey, maybe you should meet the other two newbies, Iona. You know, since you don't know much about Americans and their lifestyles, they could help you get used to things." "Da! Good idea!"

April and Pete made their way to the porch where Iona was standing. "Alo? You are America lawn job newbies, no?" "Yeah, that's us!" April said. "This country confuses me…You can teach Iona?" Iona asked with earnest. Clearly she couldn't speak fluent English. "Sure, Iona. Consider me your friend now." April said with a wink. "Oh, thanking you comrade…?" "April." "Ah, da. April and Iona shall do job good together!"

"Hey, I just noticed something! April has her barrette, and Iona has a bandanna. How come I don't have anything?" Pete whined. Just then, Alice came out. "I couldn't help but hear what you said, Pete. Hold on a sec." Alice disappeared into the house and came out a few moments later. "Here, Pete. Thought this would fit you since you seem to be such a tough guy." Alice hung a thick silver chain, the kind used for pendants, with a small padlock hanging from it, around Pete's neck and left.

"Whoa, real silver! Lucky dude…" April muttered. Pete was in a daze again. "She said I was a tough guy…" Pete said dreamily to himself, grinning and half-closed eyes still pointing where Alice had been.

"Ooooh! Pete likes Alice! Pete like Al-ice!..." April chanted. "Wh-wha? That's not true!" Pete said with his best tough-guy face, though his reddening face made his lie apparent. "Suuuure…", April said in a mocking tone. " Pete and Alice, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Pete got even redder. "Why you little…" Pete started to shoot at April, who shot back in self-defense. This squabble soon escalated into a full-blown fight, and all the plants congregated in a group around the two Peas. Iona was just standing on the porch, watching the brouhaha with a look of confusion.

"…This country confuses me…" Iona muttered to herself.

END OF EPISODE.


	3. Episode 2: The seven-year witch

It was nearing dark, and the sunset was magnificent. All of the plants were either socializing with each other or admiring the sunset. April and Iona, don't ask me how, were on the roof waiting for the constellations to appear.

"Do you really know that much about constellations, and in English, Iona?" April inquired to her friend. "Da, April. I study books in mother's library. Many, many books of space and stars." Iona replied. "Whoa…how rich are your parents, Iona?" Iona just smiled cheekily in response to April's amazement. Then, something caught Iona's eye.

"April, where is Alice going to now? With such pretty sunset, too…" Iona said, still not have fully mastered fluent English. "I don't know." April said. "She's been going away at around this time for a few days now, and always returning late at night. Somehow she doesn't seem tired during the day, though. " Iona's curiosity was piqued as April continued. "She goes three houses down, and you can hear weird music playing and flickering multicolored lights can be seen shining through the windows." April paused. "And when she gets back, she's carrying a small, pot-like object covered in cloth inside."

Iona no longer looked curious. In fact, she now looked somewhat alarmed. "What else happen lately, April?" Iona asked quickly. "Not much, except that the Magnet-shrooms haven't been feeling too well lately. They look kind of flustered, and aren't magnetizing stuff as well as they should be. Also, the sun's been much more intense lately." April said.

"April! This is very not good! Iona knows these signs. These events are no coincidence, friend. There is a witch!" Iona said with a combination of horror and seriousness. April looked weirded-out. "Witches? Like those green-skinned women with broomsticks and pointy hats in cheesy Halloween movies?" "This is no time for cheesy movie jokes, April! Witches are real, and do very bad things!" Iona retorted. "Iona…I know you're from rural Romania and all, but you're in America now. People will think you're nuts if you-" April cut off her statement as Iona rushed off to find the witch. "So much for stargazing…" April muttered.

Iona quickly made her way to the patio from the rooftop. She made her way across the lawn to the small group of Magnet-shrooms being treated by some Sunflowers. Sunflowers were basically the doctors and nurses of the lawn when they weren't producing sun. They were moving here and there, tending to the less-than-healthy Magnet-shrooms.

"Alo! Why do the Magnet-shrooms ail?" Iona asked one of the Sunflowers. "These Magnet-shrooms are all suffering from a large deficiency in ions, which is like a vitamin deficiency in any other plant, weakening them." The Sunflower said flatly. "What are ions?" Iona asked. "Ions are negatively charged atoms, which provide energy and the electricity needed for magnetism to a Magnet-shroom." The Sunflower explained to Iona.

Iona was at a loss for words. It all made sense now! The witch took control of Alice and used her to extract ions from the Magnet-shrooms, weakening them. Alice would then take the ions back in the pot-like object to the witch, who would conduct evil spells, hence the lights and eerie music.

"I must stop the witch!" Iona said. She took a small flask of water-for water was a witch's only weakness- and headed off towards the house where the events took place. She entered through the cat-flap door and cautiously made her way up the stairs, to where the music played loudest, behind a door that was open just a crack. Iona peered through the crack, and silently gasped in horror at what she saw. Alice was dancing to the eerie music, slowly and ominously, her slim figure illuminated by the lights while being observed intently by a guy her age.

"**BEGONE WITCH!"** Iona called as she burst through the door and splashed the water from the flask at him. But the guy was ok! Both Alice and the guy stared at Iona with looks of shock and confusion.

"Iona?! What the heck? Why did you dump water on Mitch, and on that note, why are you even _here_?" Alice asked, startled. Iona then explained how Mitch was a witch, and was using her for power.

"Are you serious?" Mitch asked, surprised. "Let me explain all those strange happenings. Alice and I are planning to enter the 5th Annual Talent Show at the Recreation Center. I made a device which creates isotopes, which is the pot-thing Alice takes back and forth so Crazy Dave can help make modifications to it. Isotopes are positively charged atoms. Since ions are negatively charged, the device attracts them in large numbers, like the poles of a magnet, which is why the Magnet-shrooms are deficient in ions. After Alice takes the device back to me, I help her train for her slow-dance routine at the Talent Show. My dad is a dance instructor, you know." Mitch explained politely.

"Ah, Iona understands. But why is Alice not tired during the day if she stays up so long?" Iona asked. "You know, Iona, that's the one thing I haven't been able to figure out." Mitch noted. Alice just smiled.

"Sugar. Lots and lots of sugar." Alice explained.

END OF EPISODE


	4. Episode 3: Fancy, Frilly Flowers

It was a sunny, but otherwise average day on the lawn. Iona and the mushrooms were asleep. Pete was watching a martial arts movie on his CD player. Everyone else was just relaxing until the next zombie wave hit. There was nothing to do.  
Which left April extremely bored.  
"Soooooooooo…boooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeee eeeeeeedddddddddddd…." April moaned as she lay slumped listlessly on the ground. Her boredom-induced daze was interrupted when she heard Alice answer the phone in her house. "Might as well listen in on whatever humans talk about…" April muttered. "I've got nothing better to do…"  
April peeked through the side window to see Alice on the phone. "OMG, I know!" Alice said gleefully. Obviously something had happened. "I got a letter from Fancy Plants Magazine today…no, I've never read it before, but they're a really fancy, upscale magazine, and they're sending an inspector here, to my house, to find a Pea to be their next issue's cover-plant!"  
April's eyes widened as she heard that last statement. Her one thought at that time drowned out Alice's incessant giggling and all other sounds.  
_I must be on the cover. But how? I don't know anything about fanciness. I could learn, though, but the only plants that could help me with that are…ugh…_  
The Wall-nuts. The same Wall-nuts that told April that killing zombies wasn't a lady's job and that she should turn back. As much as she hated having to ask them for help, April knew that they were her only chance of ever getting on the cover of Fancy Plants Magazine, whatever that was, to be admired by plants and gardeners everywhere.  
April rooted her way to the front of the lawn and tapped on the leading Wall-nut to get his attention. That didn't work, however, so April tapped harder and harder until she actually had to shoot a pea (Shooting peas fixes EVERYTHING) at the Wall-nut to get his attention.  
"I dare say, April! What compels you to shoot a frozen projectile at an idle fellow?" The Wall-nut said, annoyed. April groaned internally. "Look, I needed to get your attention because there's a favor I need to ask you. I have to learn how to be fancy because some guy's coming to find a Pea to be on the cover of a fancy magazine, and I want to be that Pea." April said earnestly. "Ah, that is quite the situation, lass! Of course I'll help you." The Wall-nut said with understanding, briefly adjusting his bowtie (Did I mention he wore a bowtie before this? I don't think so.) "Oh, thank you, mister…?" "Wallace the third, But just address me as Wallace, young lady"  
And so began a montage of training to be fancy, with activities ranging from the traditional balancing of books on April's head to ballroom dancing (Don't ask me how…). "You learn fast, lass." Wallace remarked. " I think there's a jolly good chance that you'll be picked to be the cover Pea!" he added jovially. Just as he said that, a limousine rolled up right next to them, and a man in a dark green tuxedo. He barely got out of the limo when he spotted April.  
"Good day sir…" April said as practiced, but didn't get to say any more when the man picked her up and remarked, "Such a lovely specimen! It will do us very good…" as Alice waved from the doorway. He took April into the limo as Alice continued to wave and drove off.  
"Wow, April's so lucky! I never even appeared in a magazine at all, let alone an upscale one like how April's appearing on Fancy Plants…" Alice said. "Fancy Plants?! Oh no! Alice, get your bike and follow that limousine! I'll explain on the way!" Wallace said, clearly rattled. Alice figured this was pretty urgent, so she got her bike from the porch, placed Wallace in the basket, and sped off after the limo.  
"Alright, what's got you so shaken?" Alice asked Wallace. "April's life is in danger" Wallace said. "Why?" "Fancy Plants is a magazine for wealthy vegetarians, and they always have some sort of plant dish on the cover, which is why they want April..." Wallace explained. "No wonder you freaked out like that!" Alice said, stress building. "How are we going to stop the limo?" "I have an idea. Remember the first time Crazy Dave helped you fight zombies?" Wallace said with a smirk.  
Alice came up behind the limo. "Hey, mister Fancy-Plants person! You aren't making April into a salad on my watch!" April looked confused and somewhat scared, but the man in the green tuxedo just covered her mouth and said "Oh? And what is a common urchin from these boonies going to do about it?" with a smug look.  
"Well," Alice retorted, "I may be an urchin, but I think it's time for me to introduce you to a little game from the boonies I like to call… Wall-nut Bowling!" She launched Wallace at the limo, with just the right trajectory and power to blow out two of the tires. The impact was so powerful that the limo was flipped upside down! Alice retrieved April from a smashed window and glared at the man, who got out of the limo.  
"You ought to be ashamed of yourself, trying to abduct an innocent, sentient plant in order to slice them up for show! I have half a mind to call the police!" "No need, Alice", Wallace said smugly. "Call it a hunch, but I can infer that this scoundrel is about to become a salad himself…" He said, motioning towards a small group of zombies starting to chase the man around. As the three watched this, April commented:

"Remember, kids, never get into a car with a stranger."

END OF EPISODE


	5. Episode 4: 3 heads are worse than 1

It was 4:30 on a cloudy day, and all the plants on the lawn were engaged against a final wave of zombies. The Wall-nuts were defending at the front lines while the Sunflowers were producing enough sun to supplement the other plants. The Peashooters, of course, were doing what they did best: shooting peas. And when I say Peashooters, I'm including April along in that category…

"BOOM! HEADSHOT!"

…being immature in the process. Although Peashooters love to shoot peas by nature, April was feeling a little trigger-happy today. As a result, she was having a ball firing frozen peas at zombies at a rapid rate. She fired continuously until the last zombie fell headless and April ceased fire, panting.  
"Whew! What a workout…" April breathed. Even though it was cloudy, the temperature was soaring into the 90's. Add the fact that it rained that morning and the weather that day was uncomfortably humid. Snow Peas as a species tend to have a natural intolerance for high temperatures due to their frigid nature, so combining the day's zombie wave it was as if April's body was saying "Thank you for your trigger-happiness, you can go back to being miserable now." And as so, April re-entered a state of heat sickness, just about sweating out every possible ounce of liquid in her body and more. She felt dizzy and lightheaded, and the vertigo made her feel nauseous. The normally frozen peas that she fired were now only soggy.  
Other than that, it was business as usual. Pete didn't even bother trying to annoy a sweltering April, for the mail had come and he had received a letter. "Wonder who it's from…" Pete muttered as he opened it and started reading. By the time he had finished, a look of horror developed on his face.  
"Hah…wh-who sent you a letter, Pete?" A flustered April inquired of an unresponsive Pete. She stood waiting for a full half hour until a bus rolled up by the house. A Threepeater stepped off and approached the lawn.  
"April, hide me!" Pete said, trying to duck behind her. However, April did the exact opposite, staggering away from him and leaving him totally exposed. The Threepeater came up to Pete.  
"~Hiiii Pete~" greeted one head with a gleeful smile. "Heh… hi Hydra…" Pete said nervously. "*Sigh…* Hello… if it matters…" murmured the second head. "WHAT? YOU AIN'T GONNA ACKNOWLEDGE ME? WHY I OUGHTA UPROOT YOU WHERE YOU STAND AND THROW YOU TO THE NEXT ZOMBIE HORDE!" yelled the third head, clearly angry. "Who's yelling?" April slurred, beginning to get delirious from the heat. "The letter didn't specify why you were here..." Pete said. "Oh,that's easy!" Happy said. "Our house burned down while I was making cookies!" "WHAT? YOU'RE THE REASON WHY WE'RE HOMELESS?!" Pete was at a loss for words. _This means that this idiot... or rather these idiots, will be living with me! They'll totally ruin my chances with Alice! _  
"Hey Pete, you know what? I went to the store the other day and they had MoGro fertilizer for sale! Isn't that just the best?" "NO IT ISN'T, YOU MORON! LEFRENCHY'S FERTILIZER KICKS MOGRO IN THE…" The happy head and the angry head continued to argue about the better brand of fertilizer, although it was more of a game to the happy head. Pete wasn't listening. This lasted until the sun went down. Meanwhile, April had actually passed out from the heat, having lost nearly all water in her body, and was being treated for heatstroke by the Sunflowers.

Iona awoke to the sound of squabbling. She got up and was able to groggily make out a Threepeater, two of its heads arguing. She watched this for a while, and then went to the front of the lawn to prepare for the next zombie wave. Unbeknownst to her, a Scaredy-shroom with a blue cap was watching her shyly from behind a telephone pole. He seemed almost entranced by her. Eventually, Iona happened to turn his way and notice him. Upon locking eyes with her, he quickly turned around and ran away into the night, heart pounding wildly and blushing madly. His escape path was illuminated only by the light poles laid every few yards and the occasional Plantern.


	6. Episode 5: Valentine's Day

It was Valentine's Day in Greenville. A six-inch layer of snow graced the lawn, with more daintily cascading from the sky. In short, it was a beautiful sight…  
Except the presence of zombies making their way across the lawn sort of ruined it.  
The plants each wore a scarf, either purchased, brought, or loaned from Alice. The zombies generally had no protection from the cold to speak of, so they went down faster than usual that day. However, a zombie made it to the end of the lawn, but the lawnmower took care of it. April was guarding that particular mower, but the zombie startled her, faltering her line of fire and allowing the zombie to pass through. Most of the plants were just grateful that the lawnmower stopped it, but Pete was still angry.  
"Ya idiot! What kind of Pea gets startled by a zombie? It wasn't even a conehead!" Pete scolded. "It was too close!" April defended. "Even if I had continued shooting it still would have gotten through!" "Yeah…" Pete said, rolling his eyes. "Whatever you say, _Ape_-ril!" April froze and gave Pete a death glare. " What. Did. You. Call. Me." She growled. It was more of a command than a question. "What? Don't be so sour, _Ape_. You need to chill out!" Pete cracked. As he fell to the ground laughing, he failed to notice April taking aim at him… until he was hit by a barrage of frozen peas. Key word:_ frozen_, on a cold, snowy day.  
Alice slowly read the temperature on the thermometer. _101.7 degrees_. "Well Pete, I don't know how you got April mad enough to shoot frozen peas at you in this cold, but I do know a fever when I see one. You're staying indoors until you get better!" Alice said.  
"Whadja talkin' aboud? I can fight for ya! I'm perfectly capabl..ah..CHOO!" Despite Pete's protests to continue working, he did feel miserable. He was burning hot all over, not unlike April when she had heatstroke. His head hurt as if it had been held in a vice, and he was so badly congested that he couldn't shoot any peas. Just looking up at Alice's mirror from his spot made his eyes hurt, for it was too bright. In short, Pete was very ill. Frost Flu, to be exact. Alice had looked it up.  
Naturally, Pete was not pleased at having to stay indoors. How was he going to show how tough he was to Alice now? Then an idea popped into his aching head.  
"Alright Pete, stay in here and rest up. I've got to go see a friend today." Pete was surprised at this announcement. Alice had good friends from the Gardener's Union, and they were in a band together. He knew that they rehearsed often. His guess was confirmed when he saw her pick up a pair of drumsticks as she headed out. When he was sure that Alice was gone, he picked up a nearby notebook with one leaf and a pen with the other.  
_When I'm finished with this, she'll love me for sure…_  
"Iona! You awake?" April called out. The sun was setting, and this was when the Mushrooms began to get up. Iona herself batted violet eyes and gave a soft yawn. She rose from her rooftop flower pot and stretched. While doing so, she noticed the sunset. It reminded her of how drastically different Mushrooms and regular plants were in terms of time and activity. To her, their day was her night and vice versa.  
"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!" April's call snapped Iona out of her thoughts. She sounded cheerful. "Da, April? Ce vrou, doamna?" Iona responded, still groggy from her slumber. "I've decided to go to my all-time favorite restaurant, Grand Americatown Buffet, but I waited till tonight so you could come. Interested?" You could learn something and taste new foods." April offered. Iona, ever eager to try new things, agreed wholeheartedly and they set off.  
They eventually arrived at a refurbished Zen Garden and went inside. There, an Umbrella Leaf, presumably a worker at the buffet directed the two plants to a table and proceeded to inform that the establishment provided multiple brands of fertilizers to choose from, as long as they had the money. April showed Iona the various dishes at the buffet and included her opinions on each. "Way too spicy…" "Tastes AWESOME! I totally recommend this!" Tastes sweet at first, but has a HORRIBLE aftertaste. Your decision." April chose the soup of the day, while Iona decided to try a fertilizer curry. After enjoying their meals, they decided to head back home.  
Pete set down the pen and sighed. He was finally done. He had finished the masterpiece that would surely win Alice's affection. Suddenly, he heard the door click, and he quickly set the paper and pen on top of the side table, put his now melted ice pack under his head like a pillow and pretended to be in a deep sleep. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep for real though.  
April and Iona continued down the dimly lit sidewalk on their way back. April had begun to tell Iona about the incident with Pete earlier that day. It was quite a lengthy explanation that went into a lot of unnecessary detail. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Iona wasn't paying attention. It wasn't out of boredom, however. She was beginning to feel very dizzy and overheated. Her breaths were shallow, and she was beginning to slow down. In the corner of her mind, Iona fuzzily realized in horror what was happening to her. She had seen a sign next to where she got the curry written in English, but since she could not read English well she paid no attention to it. Now, she concluded that the sign must have been an allergy warning regarding Rua Spice, a popular and hot spice among plants that she had a severe allergy to. "Doaamnaaa…!" Iona hoarsely tried calling for April, but said Snow Pea unknowingly went on ahead after Iona's pace slowed. As her vision swam, Iona collapsed to the sidewalk…  
Behind some shrubbery, the blue capped Scaredy-shroom watched as Iona fell over, panting and unconscious. He made his way out of the shadows to the fallen Mushroom, his blue cap giving off a slight shine in the streetlight. His name was Koniro, and he was raised by the Sunflowers to perform medical work. Therefore, upon coming across Iona, Koniro was immediately able to assess her condition. He called for some members of the Sunflower squadron to pick them up, though it would take some time for them to get there. They would treat the patient and return her home the following day. While he was waiting, Koniro's gaze shifted to Iona's unconscious form. To him, her beauty outclassed even the exotic, six-foot-tall _Titan Arum_ blossom, and she smelled worlds better. He felt his face heat up as he kept watching, but he didn't care. Nobody was watching… Right? Koniro stiffened in horror and embarrassment upon the realization that this street had security cameras that watched everything. He did what any other member of his species would have done at that time: he hid in the ground.  
Alice quietly stepped in through the door. As she made her way to check on Pete, a paper caught her eye. As she read over it, she mainly felt confused as who could have sent it. Looking at the bottom of the page, Alice read aloud: "Do you like me? Yes or No". Sighing out of exhaustion, she checked one of the boxes and went upstairs to bed.


End file.
